All of my shorts that I haven't added to yet, or lost interest in
by LokiHatake
Summary: Basically a dumping ground for all of my ideas both active and dormant. Mostly Naruto and Supernatural OC's. Rated M for explicit content. Remember, this is a dumping ground. Plz no flames. Comments about ones you like or are interested in are great. I may let some of them be adopted. Not Suo Aburame though as I am currently working with it.
1. Haze Supernatural

Haze wasn't the best person to be looking for in times of need or crisis. In fact, it would probably be best to put him at the bottom of the list, not to far above rocks and inch worms. Not because he was that useless, or that cruel, but because he was that hard to find. Haze was very good at disappearing. Almost too good at it. Any Hunter worth their salt had checked him for possession shortly after meeting him just to be sure, and a few even had tried silver and angel warding sigels. It had amused him practically to tears on the last one, but he came up clean every time. It's not like he'd tell them the truth though. He was a survivalist, and his secret needed to remain just that, a secret.  
The reason Haze was so good at hiding? He wasn't human, never had been. Haze, was a Wizard, and a half-blood at that. His mother had been a Pureblood from a near extinct line, his father had been a half-blood himself, half Sidhe, and half Cnn Annwnn (Cold/Hell Hound). And while Hae could pass every creature test thrown at him with flying colors, he was much more his father's child than his mother's.  
He was raised by his mother's maids, a trio of young voodoo priestesses in the Louisiana Bayou where he'd been raised. The three had known he was different the first time they'd laid eyes on him, and constantly encouraged him both to learn more about himself, and to hide any signs that he was different to his full WIzard-born half-siblings. He spent a lot of time learning to hide those few distinct signs, and it only got harder as he'd gotten older. Finally, at 14 years of age he'd had enough and ran away. He didn't know how long he'd been running, living like an animal in the deeper, forgotten places of the Bayou. He only knew that when he came back out, the world was different, and he wasn't the same child who'd gone in.  
His family were long since gone, not having near the same unending lifespan as himself. It had taken time, but he'd adjusted to this new world he'd stumbled into and learned to hide again. It was harder than he'd thought, fighting his own instincts so that he could hide. Sidhe were social beings, living in close knit communities hidden away from the world. Cnn Annwnn were pack animals, needing at least one other being to be happy and healthy. Haze wasn't exactly happy, and he knew by his own thin stature and frequent need of rest, blamed on a long term illness to those who knew him, but he survived, and would probably keep surviving for years to come.

Haze was only just coming back into conciousness when he felt himself being dragged into a vaguely familiar bunker. It took him longer than he would have liked to recognize where he was and why. It was the Winchester boys' bunker, and he'd been blind sided by some nasty black witch during the fight with a rogue pack of werewolves. Apparently the wolves had had friends in danker places. A mental check to catalogue what he could feel was wrong informed him that he would probably need some stitches, and possibly some alcohol. His body was killing him, and just the thought of moving under his own power anytime soon caused phantom pains to shoot through his limbs. He let out a ragged sigh and felt whomever was pulling him pause to look back.  
"You good to move? Your fucking heavier than you look."  
Haze gave a vague nod in Dean's direction and let the male set him against a wall before struggling to his feet with a pained hiss. Dean gave an annoyed huff before grabbing an arm to drag over his shoulder and tug him along until they reached the living area. Haze was dropped uncereminiously onto a couch before Dean was stomping off to get something. Sam carried in the bags behind them and set about putting things away for cleaning. Haze gave a slow blink, too tired to argue when Dean returned with a medical kit and peeled his shirt off his torso and began wrapping him up, ignoring the multitude of celtic and gaelic sigels and designs scrawled across his body in delicate, intricate patterns that the older Winchester had no hope of deciphering, and the younger didn't care to after recognizing protective symbols. With a last slow blink, Haze dropped off to sleep.

It was the snout sniffing along the bandages on his chest that woke him, that and the unusual warmth radiating from nearby. The heat was a comfort in some long buried part of his mind, but it was much higher than most people were comfortable being around. It was like standing by a furnace, or just too close to a bonfire, the heat pouring over him. He blinked open groggy blue with a hint of amethyst eyes. He nearly recoiled at the ember bright eyes staring back at him from the monstrously sized dogs face. He couldn't, however, prevent his eyes from widening in shock. He let out a choked gasp of air as the dog nudged its face right up against his and gave a pleased growl.  
"Dude, what are you staring at?"  
Haze forced himself to sit up, ignoring the pain spiking through him at the motion, at hearing Dean's voice. He looked away from the dog and to the older Winchester to find him standing near the table. Sam was sitting behind him, looking something up on his laptop. Across from them was an older male, staring at him like he was contemplating taking him apart to see what made him tick. Haze turned his eyes back to Dean and gave a short shake of his head, a 'nevermind' sort of motion that Dean as accustomed to getting when the odd, red-haired younger (or so he thought) male spoke to him. Dean huffed and turned back to the unknown male.  
"Are you going to take the deal or what, Crowley?"  
The male made a non-commital sound without looking away from Haze before giving a short nod and rising to his feet. He made a tapping motion with his foot on the floor and the dog glanced back at him before getting up as well. It nuzzled Haze's stomach, driving the breath out of him in the process, before moving back over to its master. Haze ignored the male's stare. It was too much later that the man finally left.

Haze nearly screamed as he yanked the piece of some building or other from his side, it was a long piece of metal, a couple inches wide, and it had been piercing his right kidney. The wound bled sluggishly for several minutes before slowing. It didn't stop completely, and wouldn't heal for another few hours, but it was better than it had been. He looked at the desolate city around him. It had been struck by some kind of freak storm, the entire town was silent of human noises. The air probably contended with that as it was much too hot for a normal person to be breathing in, let alone moving. With a huff of pain he forced himself up and began the long trek to the woods he knew weren't too far out of town, maybe it was time to disappear again.  
He'd only gone a few blocks when he heard the soft sound of paws on torn up asphalt. He turned his head slightly to see the Hellhound come up beside him. It stared back, moving over just slightly to allow Haze to lean on it as he walked. Haze just gave a tired sigh before letting some of his weight fall against the large dog. The dog gave a pleased sounding grumble and Haze returned the sentiment with a near sub-vocal croon. He didn't even bother startling when footsteps started up on his other side. The trio walked in silence for awhile.  
"You're a very hard man to track down, it's not often that even my pets have issues finding someone for me."  
Haze gave a non-commital grunt before deciding that a break may be in order, his side was paining him, and the various other injuries were making themselves known. He directed the Hound to a nearby, half-standing wall and managedto set himself down against it without too much trouble. Crowley remained standing, but the Hound laid down before him, curling its body half around him to help support him. Haze leaned into the heat gratefully, it had been too long since he'd really been warm enough to be comfortable. He stared up at the demon with a half-lidded gaze, near catatonic with the need for sleep.  
Crowley was staring at him with a curious face, crouching down to reach out towards him. Haze didn't bother struggling as the demon brushed away his already failing glamories. The male sucked in a sharp breath when the last of them faded.  
Haze's true form, at least the humanoid one, wasn't too different from a mortals, or it hadn't been anyway. At some point in his life, he'd truely come into what he was. His hair was not longer just red, it was a patchy color mixture of blood, hell fire, and ash. His eyes were now triple rings of blue, amethyst, and glowing ember. His skin had gone from slightly tanned, to moonlight pale with an ashy shading like smoke swirling in places. His tattoos shimmered slightly, no longer ink but something else. He was thinner, shorter, and elvish in appearance. It was only his basic shape that was human.  
Crowley brushed a strand of errant, shoulder-length hair behind a pointed ear with an expression somewhere between amusement and delight. Haze couldn't help but lean into the overly hot touch. He didn't usually like being touched, but he'd put up with it for this one. The heat was divine after being cold for so long.  
"Such a pretty thing you are, love." Haze looked up into blood red eyes, and found that maybe he had been alone too long, if he was contemplating what he thought he was. It was silent between to two for some interminable amount of time before Haze finally spoke, his voice somewhere between the howl's of a Hellhound and the whisper of bells through snowy pines.  
"I want to make a deal."  
Crowley smirked.  
"What kind of a Deal, love?"  
"A Pack. I'm tired of running, of hiding. I want a Pack."  
"A Pack? And what will you trade for it? I can't take an immortal soul, dear, doesn't work like that."  
Haze contemplated that, unsure what he could offer if his soul wasn't tradable. He looked back down at the dog beside him.  
"Join your Pack, you could always use a new Hound."  
Crowley gave a small amused huff.  
"Sorry to break it to you love, but my Hounds don't run on two feet."  
Haze gave a snort through his nose before closing his eyes. There was a brief swirl of ash, smoke, and power in the place where he was sitting before it cleared. In his place was a sleek, dark red Hellhound with tricolored eyes. It was about half the size of his largest Hellhound, Fluffy, and obviously much younger then the rest of his hounds by the mere fact it still looked like an adolescent, very much in the same way Haze looked in his more humanoid form. The Hound gave a pained whine before lying down on the cracked asphalt. Fluffy, his larger Hellhound, scooted over to the smaller Hound and began inspecting it curiously before setting about cleaning the obviously wounded young male. Crowley let the large Hound finish its self appointed task before inspecting the smaller one himself.  
He was malnourished, obviously having been on his own for quite some time, and slightly darker in color than any of his other Hounds. The size of the paws told him that he wouldn't grow too much more, but he'd still be a decent sized Hound, and from his build probably a quick little thing. He ran his hands along the fur abesntmindedly for a moment as he considered before giving a sharp nod. No self-respecting demon would turn down a Fae-Hound williningly binding to them after all.

Haze watched curiously from his place in an oddly designed pentagram, ears perked forward, as Crowley finished the designs on another one nearby. The demon turned back to his curious gaze with an amused eye roll before he stepped into his own circle. Immediately the candles already situated lit up with dark gold glames. Crowley closed his eyes as latin began spilling from his lips, a ceremonial dagger poised in one hand. Haze watched in fascination as the symbols on the demons circle slowly lit before the glowing trail followed the runes connecting it to his. When both circles were completely lit Crowley slashed his own palm and placed the bloody limb on one of the runes. Both circles burned with black fire for a moment before two lights shot out from the connecting chain and the candles went out.  
The first light struck Crowley flaring against his chest as his eyes bled crimson and his veins turned black and purple for a brief moment before fading, his eyes remaining the dark red. The second light struck Haze, startling a yelp from the male as he was forced from his Hound form to his humanoid one, eyes spinning in a brilliant flare of tri-colored light. He turned to Crowley when the male sighed.  
"Of course it couldn't be that easy."  
The demon stalked over to Haze's crouched form before dragging him to the place between the two circles. The smaller male was too surprised to fight and found that his instincts wouldn't allow him to once the thought crossed his mind. It was when the demon had stripped him with a snap of his fingers that adrenaline allowed him to react. He spun around with a snap of teeth at the red eyed demons reaching hand. The next few minutes were a blur of motion before Haze found himself pinned beneath the male, who was suddenly also naked.  
"I'd apologize, but it's necessary."  
That was the only warning Haze got before the demon mounted him with a harsh thrust, forcing the younger male to remain in place as he was almost literally fucked into the hardwood floor of the ceremonial room. Haze was shocked to find his body reacting to the brutal domination, shifting instinctually to give the larger male better access and arching back into each thrust. Eventually the thrusts became more erratic, slamming harder into the smaller male who bared his neck submissively when the demon growled against the back of his neck. Seconds later Crowley sunk teeth gum deep into the side of his neck, forcing a submissive whine from his throat as the demon gave a last harsh thrust and came, tugging his newest Hound along for the ride.

Haze blinked open sleep blurred eyes to find himself curled up against a superheated chest. He made a content grumble before his eyes slid back shut. An amused rumbled beneath his chest had him looking up into amused hazel eyes. He was curled up against Crowley where the male was half reclined against the headboard of a very large bed. Haze could feel the metaphysical bindings stretching between them, pulled taut as Crowley had apparently been exploring the connection.


	2. Hiju Obito

Hiju opened bleary eyes to find himself being carried somewhere. Whoever was carrying him was a ninja, running through the trees at a high speed. He wasn't surprised, he'd been expecting to die in that forest anyway. They had to have given him something because he didn't hurt as much as he was expecting to. Even now his eyes were already fighting to stay open as exhaustion pulled at him. With a last pained sigh he gave in.

He was strapped to a bed. He didn't even bother tugging at the straps holding him, he just opened his eyes and glanced over to the chakra signature he could feel sitting nearby. He found a black haired boy about his age past out in the chair. He flared his chakra slightly to get the attention of the AnBu he knew had to be nearby. A figure wearing a Boar mask appeared dead center of the room. Hiju mimed a writing motion with his left hand. The male disappeared before reappearing with a small pad of paper and a pencil. He set it next to Hiju's left hand and watched carefully as he wrote.  
'Where am I?'  
"Konoha." Came the answer in a genderless voice.  
'I'm sorry about the girl.' He wrote. He'd stumbled across the camp by accident trying to get back to his squad, not knowing they'd been killed by that group. The man holding the girl had been startled and slit her throat when he yanked his hand back.  
Hiju turned away and let the AnBu leave with the paper and pencil. It was nearly an hour later when two blonde men entered. One was a golden blonde, the other white blonde. The golden spoke first.  
"Hello, if you're up to it, I would like to ask you a few questions."  
Hiju looked the pair over before miming a writing motion again. The blonde scratched his head but didn't react when the AnBu from before reappeared with the pad of paper and pencil. The blonde took it and read over what was written before placing it where it had been before. He seemed to search Hiju's eyes before speaking.  
"What's your name?"  
'Hiju. Orphan.'  
The man nodded. He pointed at the previous statement.  
"Can you tell me what happened?"  
So Hiju told him.  
He briefly outlined that his Village, a small one that had been mostly overrun by Iwa, had sent his team out on a scouting mission. He'd gotten seperated from them when they'd been ambushed. Once he'd dealt with his own persuers he'd gone in search of his team. He'd stumbled onto the Iwa group, one of the nin had freaked and yanked the blade across the girl's throat. He'd tried to get away, highly outnumbered, and still looking for his squad. They'd split and half had chased after him. Already weakened from the earlier ambush he'd barely survived, only just managing to get away.  
He'd circled back around towards where he'd last seen his team and ran into the group again. They'd managed to nab him, one of them dragging him over to the bodies of his squad. They'd been about to finish him as well when there had been a loud bang, he didn't know what it was as he'd passed out just after hearing it.  
The golden blonde had the white blonde step forward and explained that they were going to check out his story. The white blonde touched his forehead and he knew no more.

He wasn't tied up anymore, that was his first waking thought. He blinked open eyes to find himself in a different room. The soft sound of breathing told him he wasn't alone. He turnedover to find another bed in the room. There was a silver haired boy in it, one side of his head heavily wrapped in bandages with the left eye covered. The black haired youth from before was in the chair between the beds, reading something, he looked up at Hiju.  
"Yo." He scratched his head sheepishly. "I'm Obito. Kakashi and I were Rin's teammates."  
At Hiju's blank expression he continued.  
"The girl from the camp."  
Hiju closed his eyes with a soft release of air, nodding slowly. He didn't want to think of the girl, because her image was quickly followed by three others.  
A tall broad shouldered man with a contagious grin and ruby red hair to his chin.  
A willowy girl with a kind smile and long braided brown hair.  
A slightly chubby boy with whisker-tattoos on his cheeks and cyan blue spikes of hair on his head.  
He curled up into a tight ball and sighed. He was startled to feel a hesitant hand on his shoulder. He looked up into coal black eyes, creased in concern and worry.  
"Did you lose someone too?"  
Hiju nodded. Obito gave a sad little smile and sat back down after a last pat to his shoulder.  
"I'm sorry. Minato-sensei says it helps to remember them how they were before."  
Hiju gave a short nod before rolling over for a simblance of distance. 


	3. Kai Hatake

Shikamaru was warmer than he thought he'd be when he woke from his nap. Also a little harder to breathe than he expected. Deciding to see why he looked down to find a boy about his age half-sprawled across his chest. The kid was about his age, so around 4 maybe 5 years old. He also had bright, spiky silver hair. He was also drooling on him. Shikamaru's nose wrinkled and he considered moving the other toddler, but that would be troublesome, and his mom was going to make him take a bath anyway. He let his head drop back to the ground and looked back up at the sky. He looked right into the face of a mid-sized bandaged dog. He blinked, the dog gave a lop sided grin. Shikamaru sighed again and decided to go back to his nap.

Kai blinked awake to find that the nice smelling boy was still laying down. He was a bit surprised to find himself sprawled across the other boy's chest. Said boy must have felt him shift because he looked down at him.  
"You drooled on me."  
Kai flushed before sighing and sitting up with a yawn. He was definitely considering going back to sleep. The other boy sat up as well. They stared at each other for awhile, both blinking sleepily. Eventually they both ended up leaning on the other, and right back to sleep. The forgotten summons rolled its eyes and kept watch.

It was the amused giggling that woke them. They both turned to see a taller black-haired lady with a hairstyle similar to the first boy. She was smiling, both boy's fathers standing several feet behind her.  
"Nice to see you awake, Shikamaru. Who is your little friend?"  
Shikamaru shrugged. When she turned expectant eyes to Kai he shrugged to, yawning yet again. There was a soft snort before a tall silver haired male came up beside the woman.  
"His name is Kai, Yoshino. I'd swear he was your's if I didn't know he was mine. I swear, he's lazier than my summons most days."  
Yoshino gave an exasperated sigh.  
"Then they're perfect for each other." She leaned down and picked up Shikamaru to hand him to his father. Kakashi followed the example by picking up his own kid, the nineteen year old looked too young to have a five year old, but he hadn't known his one and only experience with sex at 14 had resulted in a child until shortly before the Kyuubi attack several years earlier. He was just happy the boy had survived the attack when his mother had died. It irked him to no end just how lazy the little brat was. It made absolutely no sense when his mind was just as sharp as Kakashi's own at that age, if not sharper. He'd tried putting the kid in the Academy early, a Hatake tradition, but Kai had refused to give up his precious nap time. The only reason Kakashi allowed it was because Kai stated that he wanted to graduate with kids his own age, even if that meant training with Kakashi whenever his father demanded it. At this rate he'd be the most skilled Genin to ever graduate at twelve. He had no doubt the kid would be Chunin level in skill at least, if not higher, he'd make sure of it.  
Yoshino turned back to Kakashi.  
"Kakashi-san, why don't you bring your little one over some time to play, at the very least it will give you a short break. We wouldn't mind having someone else around Shika, he needs some socializing with other kids."  
"Probably a naptime friend most likely," Kakashi replied with a soft chuckle, his kid already making adorable little snores against his shoulder, "at the very least he'll have a cloud watching buddy."  
Yoshino gave a soft laugh and set up a time for Kai to be brought by before they both headed home.

Kai blinked lazily at the irate red headed woman. It really wasn't his fault that her daughter hadn't bothered looking where she was going and tripped over him... right into a rack of practice kunai... and maybe the red headed banshee did end up kind of hurt... but the woman had been trying to have a reason to get the girl out of the Academy since the beginning. Maybe she should thank him?  
Kakashi was giving him the stink eye. Kai sighed.  
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Haruna."  
The woman harrumphed before stalking off in the direction of the hospital. Kai turned back to look at his dad. Kakashi was staring at him, arms crossed and foot tapping. Kai slumped before moving into the back yard to begin his push-ups. Some days, having a shinobi for a dad REALLY sucked.

"You're late."  
Kai didn't bother replying to Chouji's statement. Shikamaru was sprawled nearby and he could see Ino over by the adults. She was probably trying to weasel something from her dad. He sprawled next to Shika and shifted so he was leaning on the other boy slightly, using him as a pillow and still able to look at the sky. Chouji snorted before walking over. He bodily picked Kai up before sitting between his two lazy friends. Both boys moved to lean on the slightly chubby boy. He made a good pillow. They managed a good half an hour nap before Ino stomped her way over.  
"Lazy butts! Dinner is ready!"  
There were two groans and the sounds of a chip bag crumpling before Chouji rose to his feet, tugging his wayward friends along behind him. Shika and Kai stumbled their way to the table, half-leaning on each other before sitting down to eat.


	4. Kaze

Kaze was one of the most patient people that Iruka had ever met. He was also brutally honest, which Iruka found to be highly amusing considering the boy's father tendency to come up with the most illogical excuses as to why hewas habitually late to everything. The exasperating point was that the boy was usually just as late as his father, he just told the truth about why. His reasons varied from he 'didn't feel like getting up so early' to 'my dad turned off the alarm again' to the more common 'I spent the morning with my dad in his usual spot'. That last one had bugged Iruka for years, until he'd gone by the Memorial Stone one morning to pay respects to his parents and found the blond haired duo there. Kakashi had been standing before the stone, talking quietly, Kaze had been seated on the ground, leaning against his father and blinking sleepily, gaze focused unerringly on a name about halfway down, among the Kyuubi victims.  
Iruka had been a bit more understanding then, and when needed he could usually find the duo there when he went searching for his wayward student. Neither Hatake was very talkative, but Iruka's frequent trips to the stone had given him a better understanding, and a stronger connection then most to the pair. Kakashi actually paid visible attention when he stopped by and would even have small conversations with him. Kaze, despite his laziness, never failed to show up to class for tests, even if he only answered enough questions to keep his dead center class rating. It was one of these mornings that found Iruka trudging his way over to the memorial stone, he was actually surprised to see Kakashi there alone. He waited for him to acknowledge his presence before speaking.  
"Morning Hatake-san. Where is Kaze? He isn't in class and its a test day..."  
Kakashi gave him a faint eye smile.  
"He's at the Nara compound. Kaze and Shikamaru came down with the Flu and Yoshino is keeping an eye on them."  
"Ah, thank you. I was headed to the Nara compound next." He rubbed the bridge of his nose sheepishly. Kakashi nodded absently and turned back towards the stone. Iruka gave a short tilt of the head before shun-shinning away.  
The Nara compound was just as quiet and peaceful as it usually was, with a few of the older members sitting out and about playing shogi or other games. The children to young to attend the Academy were over in a small clearing with a couple of the female Nara watching over them. Two of the boys were napping while another girl sneakily drew on their faces. From the amused looks on the adults faces they were probably going to make it an object lesson about awareness when the two boys woke. Iruka nodded to the gate guard before heading to the Clan Head's house. He was met at the door by Shikaku who looked bored to death and tired. He gave a jaw cracking yawn before speaking.  
"The boys are asleep in Shikamaru's room, if you want to check on them. I wouldn't suggest it though. They've only just fallen off to sleep and their both cranky as hell."  
Iruka gave a quiet chuckle.  
"Hatake-san informed me they were ill, I was checking to see if they were doing alright."  
Shikaku gave a lazy nod.  
"Well enough, Iru-nin says they're no longer contagious, but they probably won'tbe back in for a couple of days at least. Might want to keep an eye on your other students just in case."  
Iruka gave an affirmative shake of the head.  
"Will do, Nara-san. Would you like me to drop off the work they'll miss?"  
Shikaku nodded with a lazy smirk.  
"Sure, give them something to do when they're confined to the room."  
They spoke the usual pleasentries for a few minutes more before Iruka gave his goodbyes and headed back to the school. He'd keep an eye on the other students just in case.

Kaze whined, loudly, when his father woke him up. Kakashi simply rolled his eyes and pulled the cranky ten year old into a sitting position. Said pre-teen glared down at the bowl of soup in his lap like it was the harbinger of the appocalypse. Kakashi gave an amused smirk before manually forcing his lazy brat to take a bite. After a half-hearted glare Kaze began eating on his own. Shikamaru was across the room getting the same treatment from his mother with similar results. Once both boys had finished eating Kaze stumbled to his feet and over to his friend. Shikamaru scooted back to make room so that both boys could curl up on the small mattress. Yoshino simply rolled her eyes and waited until the boys were settled, curled up together for warmth, before covering them up and leading Kakashi from the room.  
"I swear, it's like they were meant to be twins and got split up while in the womb."  
Kakashi gave an amused chuckle to that before addressing one of his few friends.  
"Maybe, they were born the same day after all." (September 22nd)  
Yoshino simply laughed as they walked to another room.

Kaze opened one eye lazily as he looked over his packmate. Shikamaru lazily stared back for a few moments before closing his eyes and going back to sleep. Kaze close his own. A nap sounded good just about now.

Kaze didn't bother looking up while Iruka read out the graduating Teams for their class. He only paid enough attention to learn who the groups were. He was curious about who he'd be placed with as his scores were evenly matched with Sakura Haruna's, how the female had managed such a grade was beyond him as his had been intentional.  
"Team Seven, Sakura Haruna, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto."  
Kaze sighed, well, there goes his hope of being teamed up with his dad.  
"Team Eight, Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba."  
"Team Ten, Akamichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanake Ino."  
Kaze listened through the rest of the teams before he heard his own name called.  
"Apprentice, Hatake Kaze."  
Kaze froze. No way, he thought his father had been joking. He couldn't possibly have been serious. He gave a groan as he realised that just maybe he shouldn't have made the bet with the man about not being able to find one. He groaned when he recognized the male who came in, eyes immediately locking on Kaze. It was Ensui.  
Ensui gave him a lazy smirk before leaving the room. Kaze slouched to his feet and followed sharing a commiserating glance with Shikamaru. Ensui may be just as lazy as the next Nara but he was a hard task master when he thought it was important. Kaze followed his new Sensei all the way to the Nara Clan Training Ground. Ensui immediately set him to the usual warm up drills. Kaze complied only because he didn't want to deal with the consequences if he didn't. Ensui could be quite devious in his retribution for trouble.


	5. Nara Supernatural

Roka subtley moved so that he could keep an eye on the two males who had just entered Rick's bar. Both moved the same way Rick tended to when he was on a hunt. That usually pointed out either some kind of predator, or a Hunter. He was betting on the latter with these two, but with the aura of the taller one he was keeping his options open. Rick, using some kind of sixth sense he'd picked up over the last couple years from being around Roka glanced up from wiping the bar to catch sight of the duo. From the grin that immediately crossed his face he obviously knew them. He waited until they'd moved to the bar, two seats down from Roka, before speaking to them.  
"What are you two doing around these parts? Haven't seen either of you in almost four years."  
The shorter one slumped into a seat before speaking, the taller following behind.  
"We were in the area from something else, figured we'd stop in. Been a while Ricky."  
Rick rolled his eyes, fond exasperation over the apparent nickname.  
"Same can be said about the two of you Dean. How's your dad and Bobby doing?"  
Dean shrugged and the taller one spoke.  
"Dad's off on a job, Bobby's still running the salvage yard. How's the bar doing?"  
Rick wiped the bar off as he spoke.  
"Doing fine, Sam. Glad to hear it." He tossed the rag on the lower back part of the counter before glancing around and leaning in. "Something I'd like to ask you guys later on. Stick around until after I close up."  
Dean frowned but nodded. Sam picked up the drink set in front of him and took a sip with a curious expression.  
"Job?"  
"Nah," Rick shook his head, "nothing like that. Something else."  
Sam shrugged with a nod.  
"Sure, no problem man."  
Rick backed up a bit from the counter and looked in Roka's direction.  
"Hey, ninja-boy, come down here. Want you to meet some people."  
Roka rolled his eyes at the nickname Rick had saddled him with shortly after pulling him out of a dangerous situation when they'd first met. He drained the last of his drink and picked up the bottle before moving down the two seats so that he was next to Dean. Dean gave him a wary look before turning back to his drink. Sam leaned around his brother to get a look before speaking.  
"Hey."  
Roka raised a brow. He gave a lazy smirk before replying.  
"Yo."  
Both the newcomers turned to stare at him for a second with the foriegn accent. He ignored it and turned back to Rick. Rick gave an eye roll.  
"Boys, this is Roka Nara. Roka, these two are Dean and Sam Winchester. Dean's the one next to you."  
"Roka?" Dean asked with a huff.  
Roka pointed to the pure white hair tied back like a pineapple on his head. It was slightly longer than his Clans average length, but it still held the look pretty well.  
"It means 'crest of the wave'."  
"Which is white..." Sam trailed off. "You were named for your hair?"  
Roka nodded.  
"My mother wasn't trying all that hard, I'm the youngest of three, and the only one with white hair. My brothers were named Ensui (cone) and Daen (elipse)."  
"Cone and elipse." Rick tossed in with a smirk.  
"Your brothers got screwed." Dean said with a smirk.  
Roka raised an amused brow.  
"Sam, probably short for Samuel, meaning 'Name of God', 'Asked of God', or 'Heard by God'. And Dean, meaning 'Valley', 'Church Official', or 'Law'. I think everyone gets screwed on their names."  
Sam stared back at him with a dropped jaw. Then he grinned. Slapping his brother on the shoulder.  
"See, I'm not the only one who knows random things."  
Dean rolled his eyes before pointing a finger at his brother.  
"It could just be an interest in names, you know."  
Rick laughed and held up a hand to wave off the comment with a shake of his hand.  
"Nah, ninja-boy tends to know the oddest shit, and he never forgets it either. I would hate to see him right down everything he actually knows, could probably fill a library."  
Roka considered that, tilting his head in thought as he poured himself another small bowl of Sake. He gave short shake his head.  
"Much too troublesome, not worth the effort."  
Rick rolled his eyes.  
"Everything is too 'troublesome' for you. I swear, if you could nap twenty-four seven I'd never see you outside of jobs."  
Roka gave a dreamy little smile to that.  
"Hmmm. A nap does sound good about now."  
Rick huffed a laugh.  
"Oh no you don't! You're staying up and socializing."  
Roka rolled his eyes and sipped at his Sake. Dean glanced back at him.  
"So, ninja-boy, how'd you earn that nickname?"  
Roka gave a discreet eye glance to make sure they weren't being watched before pulling a kunai out of the pouch on his leg. From Dean's surprised expression he hadn't even noticed the pouch was there. Sam immediately went into geek mode.  
"That's a kunai. Can I see it?"  
Roka considered him for a second before sliding the kunai across the bar top to him. Sam picked it up and immediately began looking it over.  
"Kunai?" Dean questioned his brother.  
"Yeah, they're knives used in close combat they can also be thrown."  
"Not just that." Roka added. Gaining both males' attention. "They can also be used in traps, as climbing tools, as a regular tool, and a grappling hook."  
Dean looked at the small knife with a more contemplative expression.  
"I would have to see that to believe it."  
Roka glanced back at Rick who rolled his eyes before nodding.  
"Use the training room in the basement, the dirt one."  
Roka nodded before pocketing the blade and getting up. He led the way into the back, through the archway into the main house and then down to the basement, where he opened a trapdoor in the floor to drop another level into the training area. Both boys followed with a impressed expression.  
"Damn, Rick did a damn good job with this place."  
Roka didn't bother correcting them about how he'd been the one to design and help build it. Instead, he opened a closet on one side and pulled out some thin wire, a block of wood, and several other tools, as well as some rope. Both boys moved over to the side so they were out of the way. Roka ignored their stares as he weaved pieces of wire into a net. It was laid out on the ground using several kunai, suspended slightly, with a slightly bendable metal rod half buried near it and tied into one of the lines with tension.  
Roka backed up and picked up the block of wood and underhand tossed it so that it landed in the net. The slight weight caused the trap to release, springing up around the wood at high speed and the kunai winding the wire around it before sinking into the wood hilt deep at several angles.  
"Damn." Sam muttered, moving forward to inspect the block. Roka let him inspect it as he set up another trap using a hook in the sealing and the rod again. This time, when the trap was triggered the heavy log tied up by wire swung down just over the trigger point before slamming into the wall with enough force to crack the log down the center.  
Roka tied another kunai to a piece of rope and swung it around until it made a whistling sound, when he wad the boys' attention he released it. The kunai embeded itself into the wall until it was hilt deep.  
"You can also use wire, it will go deeper with wire. You can weight both ends and throw it so it will wrap around the opponent, causing damage and tangling them up at the same time." Roka picked up two plain kunai and walked over to a rather torn up looking wall in the back. He dug them in like he was trying to gouge out someone's eye before levering himself up, holding himself up with one hand and feet as he yanked the first blade out and slammd it back in a foot up. He continued this until he'd reached the ceiling and then made his way back down. Once down he grabbed some thicker rope and tied several kunai together in an odd pattern before throwing it at a post. It looped around once before the downward spiking outer blades sunk into the poll. He held out his end of the rope to Dean.  
"Go ahead and pull on it, you can't yank it out from this end, has to be removed by hand."  
Dean walked over and pulled at is as hard as he could. The blades wouldn't move at all, though the post gave a groan of protesting wood. Dean nodded and walked over to the post, letting out a grunt of air as he manually removed the contraption of blades from the wood. Roka pulled yet another kunai from his pouch before grabbing a slim pieve of wood from the table he'd set his tools on and quickly whittled the wood down to a stake with slightly serrated edges. Sam raised a brow before taking the piece of wood and looking it over.  
"Where did you get so many of the damn things?" Dean asked. Roka led the way back up to the basement and down a side hall until they found what looked like a rudimentary forge. After checking the temp of the water he stuck his hand in a barrel of water and pulled out a kunai as well as several very long and thin needles. Roka held up one of the needles.  
"Senbon. Throwing weapon. Very effective for nerve damage, pinning someone, or just punching holes in them until they bleed out."  
Dean looked over the kunai.  
"What are these made out of?"  
"Steal, iron, a few have some level of silver, and the blue tented ones are cobalt, the colbalt have rock salt smelted into them, the ones with black handles are also blessed."  
Sam looked over the weapons lining the tables.  
"What about the ones with green handles?"  
Roka glanced over.  
"Dipped in poison. The darker the green the deadlier the poison." 


	6. Suo Aburame

Gabriel had no clue how he had ended up as a baby. It probably had something to do with that fucked up archway his older half-brother had shoved him through when they'd gone with their father to his job at the Dept. of Mysteries. All he'd known was that he'd woke up as a baby in an alley in some strange place, unable to understand a word. He didn't know how old he was, but given the fact that he couldn't really move - like at all- he had to be close to newborn if not a newborn. Deciding to do what most babies did to get attention he let out a plaintive cry. It wasn't half a minute later when someone stepped into the alley he was in. It was a young woman who appeared to have been crying recently.  
She blinked when she caught sight of him before cautiously approaching him. She glanced around suspiciously before picking him up and checking him over - damn it, he hadn't realized he was naked! - and then cradled him to her chest. Then she did something unexpected. She jumped- yes jumped- to the roof to their left and began heading that way, jumping from roof to roof. A few minutes later she dropped down in front of what he thought might be a hospital and carried him in. It was a hospital.  
A nurse in pale grey scrubs took him from the lady and into another room to be checked over. He was given an exam before a warm bottle was shoved into his mouth. He cursed the baby reflexes as he immediately began to suckle it, only then realizing just how hungry he was. The nurse said something and the woman hesitated briefly before shaking her head no. The nurse gave a sharp nod before picking him up and carrying him away to be placed in a crib alongside several other cribs. Most contained toddlers but only one other had a newborn. He was placed next to the newborn. He looked over to find a black haired infant sleeping quietly. He settled down and went to sleep. Hopefully this would make more sense in the morning, or all be a dream.

Gabriel-Suo (crimson red) now for his hair color- hid in the alley where he'd been when people had begun to panic and run towards the hokage monument. He'd hidden behind a dumpster, overlooked with all the people rushing past. He was terrified of the rage emitting from the very air, though the streets nearest him were silent now. Not too far away he could hear a battle raging. Earlier he'd heard screams about a 'Fox' but was confused as to why a small canine animal could be terrifying. If it was emitting that rage he could understand it now. With his eyes squeezed shut he was unaware of the fact that the air around him had begun to glow as red tendrils of chakra snaked towards him and began sinking beneath his skin, all he felt was an uncomfortable itchiness.  
A sudden roar far above his head and the sound of feet running in his direction had him up and running. He'd only made it about half a block when a giant paw dropped down in front of him, blocking his way. Shaking in terror he looked straight up to find himself almost directly above what had to be the largest red fox he'd ever seen. It had to be at least twenty stories high. It was taller than the Hokage Tower! The air around it began to glow as something formed in its mouth and Suo stumbled backwards, trying to get away. The air around him seemed to twist faster as whatever it was grew. The air around him turned solid red as he finaly noticed it attempting to sink into his body. He couldn't help it, he shrieked.  
His yell caught the attention of Shinobi nearby, there was an outcry before a greenclad figure, looking to be about 15 at most, darted to him and attempted to grab him. The teen wrenched his hand back in shock as the very air seemed to burn him. Suo's fear seemed to make the strange occurence worse as it began moving faster, swirling at insane speeds and all but pouring into him. It hurt, oh kami did it hurt. His shriek turned into screams as the red seemed to boil, throwing the green clad teen back before it erupted upwards in a spire from his form. The giant fox yelled out in pain and rage as it jerked back in shock, backing away several steps until it was out of direct range, its steps taking it outside the village perimeter due to its sheer size.  
Some part of Suo realized that it was the fox that was causing the pain. Even as the red aura continued to pour into him he held out a hand towards the giant beast. Red chakra, darker even than the foxes, shot from his palm and out towards the fox. It collided with the black ball forming in its mouth. The conflicting energies shoved Suo back into a wall and the fox back another few steps before the ball turned a near black crimson and erupted. There was a wrenching scream- from both Suo and the Fox- the Fox tore apart in a cloud of pure chakra that quickly dispersed across the sky. In its place was a crater six stories deep and over a mile wide just outside the village. Suo collapsed to the ground, body smoking as chakra burns appeared along his skin, depicting his entire chakra network. His eyes were the worst, starting from the pupil his entire iris slowly burned black before the whites followed, leaving them looking like one was staring into the abyss.  
Whimpers poured continuously from his throat, it was the only sound aside from the fires that still raged in the forest surrounding the village, and pieces of the wall breaking away and falling to the ground. Finally, the red aura disipated from around him and his whimpers quieted slightly as the pain to his nerves lessened to an extent. A shaking hand reached down from a figure kneeling by his side and turned him over. He had no clue who did it as his world was entirely black. He only knew someone was there by the taste of the chakra on his throat, a sense he'd had since his 'birth' here even if he didn't know what it was exactly. Orphans didn't start the Academy until they turned six, and Shinobi didn't talk to Civilians about such things. All he knew was that he always knew when someone was near him, and if they were Shinobi or not, because Shinobi all felt different. Their 'taste' was more refined.  
He felt a hand brush his hair from his eyes before there was a faint gasp. Someone else moved up to them before he felt a warmth on his skin. He was fine with that until their chakra touched his own chakra network. His scream was blood curdling. The hands jerked back as if the person had been slapped and he heard apology after rapid apology as hands hesitantly tried to sooth him with soft touches. Eventually the screams tapered off, but the pain from before had returned tenfold.  
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry little one. Hokage-sama. He's too sensitive, I can't, we'll have to wait and try to do something without healing techniques."  
"Do whatever you can, Meyumi. We owe him."  
Suo faded in and out as he was moved, the only constant was that first chakra signature and the cries of an infant. The infant confused him. Why was there an infant?

There was a beeping noise nearby. He could smell disinfectant. His memories of this life, and the one time he'd been in a muggle hospital in his past life, told him it was a hospital. He opened his eyes and then reached up only to brush the bare skin of his face. He frowned. He blinked his eyes, felt them move, but he didn't see anything. He sensed someone nearby and turned in that direction, knowing he was looking at someone, but he still saw nothing. The person moved and he followed it, head turning to keep it in front of him. It stopped and moved closer. He felt a breeze on his face and scowled.

Hawk waved his hand in front of the boy's face again, but there was still no reaction from the boy's eyes. He was facing him, but the black of his eyes, and the barely noticeable pupils, never reacted. The child could somehow see him without actually seeing him. Working off a hunch he pulled a senbon from his pocket and placed a chakra intensive genjutsu on it before setting it down on a table and masking his own chakra signature. The child frowned at the senbon, focused on it before he seemed to scan the room. He brushed over Hawk's place several times before stopping just to his side. Hawk sidestepped silently and the child slowly turned to follow the movement, still off by about a foot, but within his vicinity. So a strong sensitive then. Being blind would only magnify that. He made a mental note to let Minato-sama know that when he came in for his usual daily visit.

Suo was getting frustrated. The person who was in here with him kept 'fading' to little more than a ghost like sense before popping back up just to the side of where he thought they were. He was getting closer every time, but they still kept doing it. Like they were testing him or something. He'd gotten frustrated enough earlier to try and throw something at whoever it was. That was when he realized just how weak he was. The whine that had escaped his throat at the sudden dull pain from his protesting muscle had drawn a nurse. Said nurse had looked him over and given him a drink. He'd ignored her for the most part until she'd left. She hadn't so much as reacted to the other presence. He was starting to think that the guy was invisible somehow. Though the presence of the nurse had confirmed his belief that he was blind.  
It was some time after lunch had been brought, and that had been quite the experience considering how difficult eating blind turned out to be, when a new person appeared. The figure paused just inside the doorway for a minute when the original became fully noticeable for all of a minute before disappearing. Then whoever it was came over to the chair next to his bed and sat down.  
"Hello, little one. The Matron at the Orphanage tells me your name is Suo. That right?"  
"Hai." Roka's voice was rough, and his throat hurt, but it wasn't as bad as it had been before the nurses last visit.  
The man shifted forward in his seat.  
"My name is Minato. I have a couple of questions if that's alright, Suo."  
His tone was one you would use with a particularly young child. Suo frowned at him.  
"I'm not stupid. Just ask already."  
"Alright." The man's voice had just the slightest edge of amusement, as if he'd dealt with overly bright children before. "Tell me what you remember."  
Suo reflexively looked in the direction of his hands, in his lap, as he usually did when he was thinking. It was habit wether he could see his hands or not. He took a deep breath as he organized his thoughts.  
"I had been playing on the street. I like to sit on the tops of stairwells and stuff to guess about people."  
"Guess?" Minato asked softly, as if unsure wether interupting would upset him. Suo 'looked' back at him for a moment before answering, feeling nervous for some reason.  
"If they're Shinobi." He twisted his hands together. "Some people feel different, different... I guess 'taste' works, even if I don't actually 'taste' people."  
Minato made an understanding noise.  
"Can you 'taste' the difference in everyone or just if they're Shinobi?"  
Suo tilted his head in thought.  
"Everyone tastes different," he began slowly, trying to put it into words. "Some people taste light, others heavy, there's a... aftertaste maybe? You taste like mint, light, like pine during winter. Guy over there is heavy, dark, like molasses and dirt. The one that's outside the door is dark too, warm, embers and ash."  
Minato thought that over for a minute before speaking.  
"What happened next?"  
Suo let out a breath.  
"I heard someone scream. Something about a fox. I was confused, stopped for a moment. Then the air got heavy and people started running. I was scared." His eyes closed involuntarily in remembrance. "It was so angry... I didn't understand how someone could be that angry, that... hurt... he was hurt, and angry because of it. I was terrified, so I ran into the alley, and I hid. I used to do it a lot, made it harder for the Academy kids in the Orphanage to find me. I'd just kind of... fade away, and they couldn't find me."  
Suo's hands flexed as his sightless eyes darted around, images flickering past of fire, and fear, and rage like nothing he'd ever known before.  
"My skin started feeling itchy, like when you get a sun burn and it starts to peel, like its too small. I heard a roar, and people running. When I opened my eyes everything had a red fog around it. I ran for it. Something big dropped in front of me, blocking the way. A paw. I looked up, and he was just there."  
Suo's breathing was beginning to grow more rapid as he lost himself in the memory.  
"I tried to back away, to run again. But then the air, it was like it was on fire, and trying to crawl inside me. It hurt, it hurt..." He shuddered in a deep breath before continuing. "The guy, in the green, he tried to grab me. He surprised me, and it got worse. It hurt before, but after... it was like being the log in the middle of the bonfire, the big one that is there almost to the end before it turns to ash. What couldn't pour into me poured out. Then he, the fox, he looked at me. And I knew... knew it was him that made it hurt. So I threw it back at him. I didn't want it, but it just kept pouring in, so I threw it back."  
He startled when he felt a hand lightly grip his own, having been unaware of Minato moving to sit on the bed beside him. He took a deep breath and continued.  
"I remember falling, and someone touching me, they did something, and it hurt like the red fog all over again. I don't remember much after that. Just your chakra, and a baby crying. Why was a baby out there?"  
He was confused, why would a baby be in a battlefield? Minato tightened his grip for a moment before speaking.  
"Thank you, Suo. What you did? It saved a lot of people. You stopped him from getting more than a street into the village, and abandoned street. A lot of my Shinobi are alive because of you."  
Suo nodded tightly, exhausted all of a sudden. Minato brushed his bangs behind his ears before standing up.  
"Why don't you get some sleep? I'll be back to check on you later. Alright?"  
"Alright..."  
Suo laid down and fell into an exhausted slumber interspersed with vivid nightmares of a red fog that tore at him again and again.

Suo held tightly to Minato's hand as the man led him to his new home. He'd been told a few days before that he was 'Chakra Sensitive' and was being placed with a Clan to be sure that he got proper training for it. Minato was taking him there now. Apparently, the Nara Clan was well known for their ability to sense chakra both with and without their Shadow Techniques. The Uchiha Clan also had a few well known Chakra Sensitives, but he wasn't being placed with either. Instead, he was being placd with a Clan who were also Chakra Sensitive, being that nearly all of them could sense Chakra even if no one knew about it.  
He was being placed with the Aburame Clan. He had been surprised to learn that a set number of individuals of the Aburame Clan, a rare few with a type of insect that were bred with the ability to use echolocation, were blind. He was being placed with a user with that particular breed. The walk was quiet as Suo was taking the time to adjust to having to take someone elses lead so that he wouldn't run into anything. He ducked shyly as they were led into the Clan compound. He lifted his free hand closer to his face, staring at a small speck of chakra that was moving on his skin. He glanced up when someone moved closer and then jerked back into Minato in shock. The person, whoever they were, had millions of the little dots moving on and -inside- him. The man stayed completely still and waited.  
Hesitantly, Suo moved forward and lightly touched the man's arm, finding cloth in the way. He frowned slightly before tracking a stray dot moving near the mans wrist, tracing its path with a finger. He released Minato's hand to reach for the dot on his own hand. The dot stilled so that he could touch it. It was smooth, but felt somewhat fragile. There was a slight pattern to it, like overlapping layers protected by an outer shell. His mind whirled as he put the information together and came up with only one answer.  
"Bug." He said quietly, carefully lifting the small insect upon the tip of a finger. The man carefully, slowly, reached forward to take the bug and place it on his sleeve where it joined the rest.  
"Hai." His voice was toneless, and blunt. Suo tilted his head slightly, angling his 'gaze' up to where the man's face would be.  
"Arigato."  
The man slowly reached out and moved his hand to in front of Suo's face. A bug settled onto his nose and skittered across his brow and eyelids for a moment before returning to the man.  
"You are blind."  
"Hai."  
Suo was surprised to feel a hand softly pat his head before the man left with a soft goodbye. Suo let Minato take his hand and lead him onward again. Minato had been quiet throughout the exchange but 'tasted' happy with the way the conversation had went. Suo gave a mental eye roll and kept quiet.

Takeshi was waiting for them in the Clan Head's home. Minato made pleasentries with the Clan Head, Shibi, spoke quietly with Minato for a time before Suo was sent with Takeshi back to his new home, a small building not too far away. None of the buildings in the Clan Compound were far apart, being placed in spirals around the central building used for the main hives. Takeshi's home with his wife Tsuki was placed near a darker back corner of the building. Attached to it was a blacked out building that Suo was informed held Takeshi's own hive, as said hive was grown too large for his body alone. It was then when Suo was informed what his adoption into the Clan could entail with Suo's agreement.  
"Most of the Kikaichu need to be placed within the body at birth as the Queens nest within the Chakra Core. However, the 'Hibiku' or 'Echo' hive Queens are much smaller than the other Kikaichu Queens. As such, they can be placed within the host up until the age of seven with little difficulty. It is also possible for them to be added into an already existing hive, but such instances are rare."  
Suo bit his lip, he knew where this was going.  
"You want me to form a hive."  
"Hai."  
Suo wrung his hands for a minute.  
"What if I don't have enough Chakra to support them?"  
Takeshi seemed to consider for a moment before speaking.  
"Usually, children in your age range have very low Chakra reserves, with an Aburame's only being a bit higher due to the presence of the Hive. However, you have a very high Chakra Reserve. This may be due to having hosted so much of the Kyuubi's chakra, but it is also possible that you had a naturally high reserve to begin with. As it stands, your reserves are comparable to that of an Elite Jounin. You would easily be able to host a Hive and still be capable of using high level jutsu."  
Suo blinked in shock. He had that much chakra? He gnawed on a lip in thought for a few more minutes before nodding.  
"Okay. I'll do it."

Suo frustratedly kicked at the training post. He'd been working with his Hive for months and been unable to get them completely spread through his system. It had been discovered earlier that day as to the reason why. A consequence of hosting so much of the Kyuubi's chakra was that his own Chakra was much heavier than normal and had a slight corrosive property to it that made it impossible for the insects to spread to the far reaches of his tenketsu where the chakra thinned out and the corrosive property became more evident. Because of this the insects were confined mainly to the center of his body. Their farthest reach was to his elbows and knees. Any farther and the insects would die out. The newer generations showed a strong resistance to the demonic-like chakra, but they were still unable to spread any farther. The final result was that Suo would always have the smallest Hive of the Clan. Even the younger children had larger Hive's then his own.  
He stilled as his Father's messenger reached him. He read the message with a sigh and a tired little smile. He picked up the tools he'd been using to work out his frustration and put them away. The bug his father had sent was one that had been bred out of his own. The small Hive had spread partially into his Father's Hive, a few moving out to join with the main Hive in the central building. The only upside to his rather specified Clan was that they tended to live slightly longer than average and were breeding their resistance into the other Hives. Shibi had requested that he take in small numbers of Insects from the other species and breed the resistance into them as well. As such, he was always carrying a Hive Gourd on his back that had been split into several chambers to house the different breeds he was cultivating. Once they showed a strong resistance half of the Hive would migrate back to the main Hives to be replaced. Eventually, all of the Hives would carry the resistance, minimal contact with Suo would make sure that the resistance didn't fade out over time. At seven years old, Suo was happy to have found a Clan that had taken him in and treated him as their own. He had thought it was obligation at first, but his own Hive informed him he was being stupid, the Hive protected and cared for the Hive. And even though the Clan was made of many, many Hives they were all one Hive.

Suo studied his teammates with an intensity that would have been frightening had the other two known of it. As it was, the lazy female, Hikari Nara, and the quiet Itachi Uchiha remained unaware of the intense scrutiny. Hikari was ten, a full two years older than Itachi and himself. Suo found himself feeling sorry for whoever ended up with them. All three of them were quiet individuals. He turned towards the door as someone stepped inside. It wasn't so much the fact it was a person, it was the size. He knew even before the teacher spoke that it was an Akimichi.  
"Doto Akimichi, Team 13, your Sensei is here."  
"Troublesome." Hikari groaned as the trio got up and followed their new Sensei outside. He led the way to a nearby restaunrant and they all sat down. A waitress immediately came by and took their orders, not bothering with Doto's. Though this was an Akimichi restaurant, he was most likely a regular with an well-known order. When the waitress moved off Doto turned back to them.  
"I am Doto Akimichi, I like food and training with my Bo. My hobbies are trying new foods. My dream is to make my Clan proud. Now, you three go, ladies first."  
Hikari sighed, head down on the table as she spoke.  
"Hikari Nara. I like naps and shogi. My hobbies are tending to the deer in my Clan grounds. My dream is to live an average life, and to make Chunin so that my Mother will let me nap more often."  
"Itachi Uchiha. I like Pokie and peaceful times. My hobbies are training with my little brother and reading. My dream is to keep my village safe and to have a peaceful world."  
Suo 'glanced' at Itachi contemplatively.  
"My name is Suo Aburame. I like playing shogi and dango. My hobbies are training and tending to my Hive. My dream is to help all of my Clan's Hives to gain immunity to Bijuu Chakra, and to make the world a peaceful place."  
Doto looked between his team with a happy expression.  
"It is good that you have such dreams. Many graduates are more concerned with small things, such as gaining recognition for some great task, or gaining someone's approval and attention. You three have chosen dreams that you can work toward. This is good."  
The waitress brought them their food and Doto made small talk with them as they ate. When the last of the dishes had been cleared away he spoke to them again.  
"Graduating from the Academy tells older Shinobi that you have the skills to begin a career as Shinobi. However, you are not yet true Shinobi of Konohagakure. There is one last test you must take. Each Jonin tests their team to decide if they are ready to be Shinobi. So now, I will give my test to you. Hidden around the village are fourteen golden marbles. In order to pass my test you must find five of them and bring them back to me. If you fail in this task, you will be sent back to the Academy. You will have until dawn to find and bring them to me at Training Ground 3 by the Memorial Stone."  
Doto was just about to stand up when Suo spoke.  
"Then I forfeit. I will not become a Shinobi at the cost of my comrades. Even should we find all 14 marbles, someone will fail. I refuse."  
Itachi nodded in agreement.  
"I refuse as well."  
"Troublesome, I refuse too. My Mother will just have to deal."  
Doto stared at them all for a full five minutes, the trio beginning to squirm slightly under the stare before he smiled.  
"You all pass, I will see you tommorow at the Memorial Stone, at dawn. Though I still expect you to have all 14 marbles."  
He grinned at the trio of groans before the Genin scattered in search of the ellusive marbles.

Suo was leaning sleepily against his teammates, slumped a few feet from the Memorial Stone, as dawn crested the horizon. It had taken till midnight to find the marbles. The trio had simply decided to wait it out at the Memorial Stone so they wouldn't be late. Now, five hours later, they woke to an amused chuckle from Doto-sensei. He was standing next to the stone and carrying a large basket which he set down on the ground.  
"It is good to see that you are punctual. Do you have the marbles?"  
Itachi pointed to a small bag sitting on the stone. Doto picked it up and counted the marbles before pocketing the bag. He sat down and opened the basket before pulling out three regular sized bento boxes and one large one. The trio politely accepted the food and began to eat. Suo was under the impression that breakfast with their Sensei was goingto become a tradition. When they were finished he walked them through a morning routine before teaching them drills. It was during their free for all sparring session that Hikari got frustrated of throwing off Itachi's genjutsu that she rounded on Suo.  
"I am not that bad at dispelling Genjutsu, but you act like they aren't even there! How?!"  
Suo blinked before sheepishly scratching his head, inadvertantly knocking off his hood to reveal his crimson colored hair. With a sigh he pulled off his goggles to reveal blacked out eyes. Hikari stomped forward and leaned close enough that Suo could feel her breath on his face. Her voice, when she finally spoke, was hesitant.  
"Are you blind?"  
"Hai."  
She took the time to chew that over.  
"Then how do you take tests?"  
With a slight smirk hidden behind his jacket he lifted a hand to reveal a Kikaichu.  
"They see just fine."  
"Oh, so that's how you get around too, right?"  
Suo shook his head. The first Kikaichu disappeared and a Hibiku peaked out of his sleeve. It was hardly larger than a flee and bright silver.  
"These are Hibiku, or 'Echo' bugs. They use Echolocation, and as such, transfer the information back to me. I 'see' through them. I, myself, can also use Echolocation Jutsu, but the Hibiku are much quieter, and their use cannot be sensed."  
Itachi stepped forward with his own question.  
"They tell you where we are?"  
"Yes and no. I am highly Chakra Sensitive. I am a Level 5 Sensor."  
"Huh." Hikari muttered. Itachi nodded as well before backing away. He returned to his side of the clearing, tossing a last question over his shoulder.  
"I believe that the Aburame can disturb sensor abilities."  
"That is why I have the Hibiku."  
The other two let it go with an accepting nod of the head and the training resumed.

Suo jumped from tree to tree, trailing behind Itachi who was acting point, with Hikari not far behind. The two ten and one twelve year old were headed to the tower in the center of the Forest of Death, competing in the second stage of the Chunin Exams. The first part had been a test, easily finished with three Prodigy-Level Genin, no cheating necessary. They had, however, discreetly aided their fellow shinobi through use of Kikaichu, Sharingan, and Kagemane. Getting a Second Scroll in the Forest had been simple between them. Suo had found the target, Hikari had captured them, and Itachi had gotten the information on the scroll. It was luck that that first team had had the scroll they needed. Now, they were headed for the tower. This was not the first time they'd been in this forest.  
Suo gave a low birdcall to inform Itachi and Hikari of incoming teams. Itachi signalled them to a stop and immediately began weaving Genjutsu. The trio moved to hide in the trees. The two teams that had been incoming came up on each other directly below them. It was a Konoha Team and a Team from Suna. After a brief exchange of handsigns the trio changed positions so that they would be able to aid their fellow Konoha-nin.  
Hikari moved first, catching and freezing the apparent leader so that he couldn't dodge the punch aimed for his head. He dropped to the ground unconcious. Suo placed bugs on the one closest to him with instructions to drain of chakra. The female tired quickly and freaked at the insects when she spotted them. Swatting at the fast moving insects. She fainted soon after from chakra exhaustion. Itachi simply placed a genjutsu over the last that resulted in him attacking a tree. The Konoha team shrugged before knocking him out. Itachi dropped to the ground and let the team see him before the other two dropped and gave a salute. The trio set off again, leaving the other team to search the downed one.

Once at the tower they'd quickly figured out the message and opened the scrolls. Doto appeared out of the smoke with hearty congratulations and led the way to the cafeteria, spouting praise for breaking the last record for passing the second part of the exam. He didn't seem to mind how quiet they were, having come to know when he should worry over the last three years. The trio just gave him fond looks and let him talk their ears off. They enjoyed a quiet meal with their Sensei, passing along and recieving news about their families and Clans before heading off to find rooms for the next few days.

The third part of the Exam was a series of one on one battles, a month after the second part. They were lucky in that they had so much practice fighting against each other and random spars with other teams. Until the last couple rounds they had easy fights. Hikari finally lost to a male from Kiri, running out of Chakra when the nin continuously evaded her Kagemane using fireballs to brighten the area around him. Hikari cursed at the fact she'd gotten one of the few fire users in all of Kiri. Suo had barely beaten a fellow Sensor from Suna before being defeated by Itachi in the second to last round. Itachi had won the tournament to the cheers of his little brother and village. Suo and Hikari were happy for him, and later estatic that they'd all passed.

Suo laughed as he dodged Shino's tackle. The six year old was determined to catch his Itoko (cousin). The Clan Heir looked like a miniature version of Shibi but had his mother's brown eyes instead of his father's black ones. There was an amused 'hn' that had Suo looking up at Itachi. He grinned back and picked his little cousin up to carry him back to the Clan Head house. Itachi followed beside him, greeting Shibi when he took his son back and wished them luck on their next mission. Suo gave him a confused look before shrugging to Itachi and leading the way back to his own home and getting his supplies. They had been requested to come to the Hokage Tower. The duo were quickly moving towards it across the rooftops, exchanging guesses on their next mission via spikes in their chakra, a long learned skill. They were let in the tower and sent up to the office.  
Neither showed their surprise at the masked AnBu waiting in the office beside the Hokage. Like the Shinobi they were they scanned their surroundings before focusing on their Hokage. Minato seemed amused by this and flipped the file in front of him closed before passing it to the AnBu with a small smile. Said AnBu looked through the file himself before closing it and sealing it away somewhere in his vest. He gave a slight nod to Minato who turned back to Suo and Itachi.  
"Uchiha Itachi, Aburame Suo, you have been requested today for a very special honor. Due to your exemplary teamwork, conduct on missions, and skillsets you are being given the opportunity to join AnBu. Should you accept you will immediately be placed into the training program. Should you decline, you are free to go back to normal duties. Should only one of you accept, the other is free to return to normal duties with the agreement to keep the other's identity as an AnBu secret."  
He let them go over what he'd told them and consider the offer. Suo looked over to Itachi who glanced back with a rapid fire flare of his chakra. Suo replied with a simpler rhythm. Itachi stepped forward and addressed Minato.  
"We both accept."

Suo stumbled as he carried Itachi back towards Konoha. His own injuries were slowing him down, but he refused to leave his friend behind to die alone in enemy territory. So he pushed on, hoping, praying, that Itachi survived long enough to see his brother one more time. They'd been ambushed by bandits and missing-nin several miles out of Fire Nation. They'd survived only because Suo had emitted enough corrosive chakra to half melt the ones closest to him. His Kikaichu had acted as a Shield over Itachi to prevent him being damaged, at the cost of more than half Suo's Hive. In a last ditch effort he sent half of what was left ahead of them. The insects would move much faster than his own crawl.  
He had no clue where he was when he finally collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood and dust-like fragments of his own bones. Several ribs had been damaged, one partially pulverized and driven into a lung. It was stubbornness that had kept him going this far, and the rapidly depleting Hive stemming the blood flow. If he didn't get aid soon Itachi wouldn't be the only one who'd die. The tracking bug that found him on the edge of conciousness was nearly missed. With a near silent sob he allowed himself to collapse.

The smell of disinfectant and that annoying beep drew him from his sleep. His entire body hurt, but his eyes were worse. He didn't know what, they just were. He reached up with a frown to find bandages covering them heavily.  
"Medic." He croaked out. He cleared his throat and tried again. This time he heard footsteps and a straw was placed to his cracked lips. He took a few swallows before trying again.  
"Itachi?" He managed to get out. The woman hesitated before telling him she was getting someone to speak to him. She left the room and he was alone aside from the usual AnBu off to one side for a short while before two people entered the room. One was Minato and the other he recognized as Fugaku, having met the man many times before.  
"How are you feeling, Suo?" Minato asked gently.  
Suo shook his head sharply.  
"Itachi." He rasped. "Did Itachi get to... say goodbye... to Sasuke?"  
Minato became quiet, and Fugaku stepped forward.  
"Yes, Suo. Itachi woke long enough to say goodbye to Sasuke. He also asked that his last wish be carried out."  
Suo frowned.  
"Last... wish? Sasuke?" He was confused. Fugaku spoke again.  
"No, Suo. Itachi knew you'd get him back to Sasuke. His last wish..." Fugaku swallowed painfully. "He wanted you to have his eyes. To see the peaceful world you'd both dreamed about for him."  
Suo slowly reached up to the bandages again, suddenly understanding.  
"His..."  
"Hai. The Medic says they will be able to remove the bandages in a few days. We are waiting for you to be released from the hospital to have the funeral."  
Suo nodded sharply and settled back on the bed tiredly. Fugaku awkwardly patted his hand where it was gripping the covers before leaving. Minato was quiet for a bit before speaking.  
"Can you tell me what happened?"  
So, he did. Minato didn't interupt, seeming to know that he'd only be able to say it once, and any interuptions would cause him to break down. He could hear Minato writing as he spoke, taking down the Official Record. He left shortly after to give Suo time to grieve.

Suo stood in front of the Memorial Stone, staring at it with whirling red and black eyes. The fully matured Sharingan spun and stilled, spun and stilled, before fading to black. No one was certain why, but believed it to be his status as a Sensor, but he could activate and deactivate the Sharingan as if they were his own eyes. However, by some quirk he was still totally blind when they were inactive. Suo's Hive informed him that someone had arrived nearby. The noise was small in his mind, weak with just how small his Hive had become, only a few dozen of them remained when he'd once had a Hive of several thousand. He hadn't yet renewed the Hive using his others in his father's storehouse. He wasn't ready for them yet, his chakra still more corrosive then usual. The Medic-nin told him it would settle over time.  
His hand was tracing the kanji for 'weasel' on the stone again and again. He finally backed away a step or so with a sigh and tilted his head in the direction of the newcomer. An older male lazily walked over to stand beside him. He recognized the signature of his Taicho, Kakashi. Both male's were quiet for a time. When Suo finally spoke it was in a cracked voice, stressed from disuse.  
"Does it ever get any easier?"  
Kakashi hummed.  
"Depends what you mean by easier. Eventually, it's not as fresh, still hurts, but more like a pain you've carried for so long you no longer really notice it. If you didn't really know them that well, it hurts less, fades quicker. But the ones your close to... It never really goes away, just reminds you what you have to lose. You get used to it, eventually. And you either adapt, or you quit."  
Suo closed his eyes with a nod.  
"Arigato."  
Kakashi patted him on the shoulder and they went back to being quiet.


End file.
